Deepa (1992)

Troop first hit the charts as teens, and now, veterans in their 20s, they seem to be having an image rethink. Their third album, Deepa, opens with upbeat, synth-propelled, R&B-pop bonbons about how and why they love their girls. And ''Whatever It Takes (to Make You Stay),'' already a hit, is a buoyantly seductive overture that reeks of good intentions. But for most of the disc Troop puts the brakes on kind and gentle riffs and careens headfirst into more adult (read: overtly sexual) turf. The, ahem, highlight is the title cut, a six-minute-plus ''do me'' opus, complete with orgasmic panting that would make a porn star blush. Much more honest and mature than this clumsy and obvious stab at ecstasy is the PG-rated slow jam, ''Come Back to Your Home.'' While Troop is entitled to grow up, they're best when they maintain their innocence. B-